Some Audiences Are Reportedly Leaving 'The Hobbit' Feeling Sick

Apparently filming in 48 frames per second (fps) was not a good idea. “The Hobbit” won’t be playing in the U.S. for another week but it has screened in New Zealand, and some people are claiming to feel sick afterwards.

According to the Daily Mail, viewers told the Sunday Times the controversial high-frame rate version of the film left them nauseated and dizzy, and compared the viewing experience to that of motion sickness.

“My eyes cannot take everything in; it’s dizzying,” said one fan. “Now I have a migraine.”

It’s not the regular 2D versions of the film that are bothering moviegoers.

Rather, it’s Jackson’s revolutionary decision to show the film in select theatres at 48fps (frames per second). Normally, a film is shown at 24fps, so audiences’ brains will be processing double the amount of images in the same amount of time.

“We have been screening the full-length HFR 3D presentation of ‘THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY’ extensively and feedback has been extremely positive, with none of thousands who have seen the film projected in this format expressing any of the issues described by two anonymous sources in media reports. We share the filmmakers’ belief that by offering film-goers the additional choice of HFR 3D, alongside traditional viewing formats, they have an opportunity to be part of a groundbreaking advancement in the movie-going experience and we look forward to having audiences everywhere share in this new way of storytelling.”